Atlantic Ballet

I had the pleasure of attending the Atlantic Ballet season kickoff and gala last night. It was an impressive affair. Every time I am sitting the Capitol Theatre watching the ballet I think back to the 1970s when people watched cheezy John Travolta movies in that place.

It’s kind of hard to believe that a city council and a provincial government let Moncton drift to the point that half the downtown was boarded up, garbage blew through the streets from the adjacent dump and the Capitol Theatre was a movie joint. I realize Moncton was facing other challenges in those days but….

One Response to Atlantic Ballet

In a twisted sort of way, don’t you think that Moncton’s decline to near disolution was exactly what was needed to provoke action? Isn’t that responsible for creating a united sense of urgency for meaningful action? Is that not what transformed Moncton from a loser to a winner?

I think regions such as the north and for that matter the Province might need to decline a bit more so that we are provoked into action and economic development becomes a priority issue. Sorry, pandering for pothole money is not going to make meaningful difference. More handouts and agencies are not what is needed; a motivated population and an effective strategy is necessary.

For years economists with foresight predicted economic doom for NB with declining population and the shift from a resource based economy. Our response? Prioritize moose fencing or lower insurance rates or remove the tolls and let NBers pay on behalf of all the through traffic. The next decissive election issue is shaping up to be either ambulance fees or ferries. Are we rearranging the deck chairs on the titanic?

We have to our credit an enourmous economic development success story and we are still reaping benefits from it 20 years later. We know it can be done; let’s do it again. To get things started, meaningful economic development (not community gardens and hockey rinks) has to be a priority issue in our governments, in our businesses and in our communities.